by C. Fennessy
Chapter Seven: The Big Surpise
The next morning, everyone got up early and had breakfast in the hotel café before going to rehearsal. There were lots of questions about Taylor's "date" with Danny and what they discussed.
"He probably wanted to find out details about our plans," Kelly said sarcastically.
"Well, he did ask, but I told him that it was going to be a surprise."
"A surprise! You're not kidding! Wait 'til you hear what Leisha and I came up with last night!"
"What? asked the others.
"We'll show you when we get to the studio," Kelly said with a knowing smile.
Joey unlocked the studio door and they began warming up with an old favorite. After that, Taylor said, "Okay, now show us this big surprise you were talking about."
Leisha and Kelly looked at each other, grinning. Leisha said,
"You know how we felt like we lost something when Susan quit? I mean, in addition to having a great voice, she could really dance. We don't have that edge anymore, and we needed to come up with something that will really wow the judges. So, Kelly and I got this great idea. We'll all dance! We'll have Ashley keep a drum beat and Taylor can record a loop on the keyboard and that will free up us three to do a cool dance routine."
"Ah,…dance? On TV? In front of millions of people?" Taylor asked warily.
"Yeah! It's a great routine. We'll do it for you," Leisha said, taking off her guitar.
Ashley played the drum part and Leisha and Kelly began dancing in step. The others watched and their eyes widened in amazement. When they finished, Joey cried,
"Hey! That's great! This will really put you over the top to win!"
"You think so?" Kelly smiled.
"But I don't know how to do that," Taylor shook her head.
"It's easy. We'll teach you-"
"But I'm not a good dancer! I have two left feet. Why don't just you two do it?"
"No! It's got to be three of us doing it together to get the full effect," Leisha insisted.
Taylor shook her head, "I don't think it will work. I mean, just having the drums-"
"No, play a line on the keyboard and record it, then play it back. Then you can let it play as we dance."
Taylor looked from one to the other, clearly unhappy with the idea of dancing.
The girls argued for several minutes, with neither side winning, and then Joey suggested they take a break. He sent them out for sodas and asked Taylor to stay behind.
"Taylor, I think dancing is a great idea. And it really would look better with three dancers than with just two. It'll be great!"
She shook her head, "We're going to waste rehearsal time when we should be practicing the music. And I'm a real clutz, Joey. I don't think I can do it!"
"Sure you can! It's not that hard. Will you please just give it a try? Just try it for me…can you do that? Please?"
She looked into his brown eyes, pleading with her. She could never stand in the way of anyone else’s happiness, and so she reluctantly shrugged.
"I'll try. But if I screw it up, then I'm not dancing on stage with millions of people watching me."
"Great! All I ask is that you try,” he said, squeezing her shoulder affectionately.
When the girls returned from the soda machine, Joey told them that Taylor would give it a try, and suggested that they rehearse one section of the dance at a time. While the girls rehearsed the dance steps with Taylor, Joey disappeared down the hallway. An hour later, he came back and watched them do the routine. When they finished, he clapped his hands.
"That was fantastic! You girls have got to see how good you look. While you were practicing, I found a dance studio not far from here with a big mirror where you can rehearse for an hour tonight. That way you'll be able to watch your moves. I think it may help."
They finished rehearsing the song that would be used in the dance routine. After rehearsal, Joey took them to a restaurant near the dance studio. They enjoyed a casual dinner and then he drove them to the dance studio where they met the owner.
"Hi, I'm Pat Summers. Welcome to my dance studio," a slim, dark-haired woman smiled as she showed them inside. It was a large room with a wood floor and mirrors along one wall.
She said, "I saw you on TV last week. You were really amazing! I hope you win!"
"Maybe you can help us with that, Pat," said Joey, "The girls have come up with a dance routine that they'll be doing in one of their songs. If they do it for you, can you tell us what you think?"
"I'd be happy to," Pat smiled.
Joey handed her a recording of the song that he had made during rehearsal, and she played it. The girls nervously began their routine, and then made it through with only one mistake which made them all giggle with embarrassment.
"That's very good!" Pat clapped, "I really like the way you move on this song. I think I can make a couple of suggestions that might improve it even more."
She showed the girls some new steps and moves which they thought would really improve the routine. They practiced for the next three hours, and even Taylor was beginning to enjoy herself. They all laughed when they bumped into each other and made faces in the mirror, joking around and having fun.
Pat counted off the beats, saying, "Now remember, turn right on the count of four! One, two, three, four!"
Suddenly Leisha turned right and Taylor turned left and they both fell down in a tangled mess. Kelly, Joey and Ashley began to laugh.
"Sorry!" Taylor apologized, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think so," said Leisha, but when she tried to put weight on her right foot, pain shot up her leg and she began to fall. Ashley and Taylor grabbed her quickly.
"Ow!" Leisha cried, "My ankle!"
They sat her down gently on the floor and Pat came running over.
"Let me see it," she said, taking Leisha's foot gently. Leisha jerked it back in pain when Pat tried to move it.
"I think it may be sprained," Pat said.
"Oh, no!" Taylor cried, "This is all my fault!"
"No it isn't," Leisha insisted, touching her arm.
"Yes, it is! I did this!" Taylor insisted, "And now we can't dance in the finals!"
After inspecting the ankle more closely, Pat determined that it was indeed a sprain and that rest and ice was the best treatment.
"Will she be able to perform in three days?" asked Joey.
"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see. But she must stay off her feet and rest for the next 24 hours, and use crutches to get around after that to avoid putting any weight on her foot."
"Maybe we should take her to Emergency," Kelly suggested.
"It might be a good idea to get an x-ray," Pat agreed, "just to make sure no bones are broken."
Joey agreed despite Leisha's protests and the girls all helped Leisha get into the van. Pat gave them directions to the nearest hospital and Joey drove them there.
The emergency room was full despite the late hour and a nurse told Joey that they would have to wait another two or three hours before being seen by a doctor. Joey decided to take the rest of the girls back to the hotel and return later. They all hugged Leisha, who insisted that she would be fine, and said their goodbyes.
Joey and Leisha returned from the hospital around one o'clock in the morning. Even though the girls were asleep, Kelly greeted Leisha and everyone woke up to see how she was doing.
"It's just a sprain--nothing broken," Leisha told them. She was on crutches and her ankle was bandaged heavily. Joey was carrying a large ice pack and gave it to Kelly to make sure it was put onto Leisha's ankle when she went to bed.
"And give her these pills to reduce the swelling and relieve the pain," Joey told them. The girls promised to take good care of her and Joey left.
After getting ready for bed, Leisha was tucked in by her three friends who gave her the pills and an ice pack.
Taylor sat down on Leisha's bed, saying sadly, "I really feel bad over this, Leisha. I am such a clutz! I tried to warn you-
"
"Yeah, you did warn me and I took the risk, so it's really my fault, too. Forget it! I should be fine in couple of days."
Taylor felt awful. She wished she had never agreed to dance, and then the accident wouldn’t have happened. She nodded and said goodnight to Leisha before turning out the lights.
Once in her bed, Taylor couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, wondering what would happen if Leisha couldn’t dance. She was the best dancer among them, and Taylor didn’t want to dance alone with Kelly in front of millions of people. What if she did the same thing to Kelly that she did to Leisha, and in front of the entire viewing audience? She sunk down under the blankets and pulled them over her head.
